NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Alta, IA
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
No tropical storm or hurricane has passed within 75 miles of Alta, Iowa since records began in 1851. Since 1950, 92 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 0
- Tornadoes
- 92
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
no recorded deaths
What the records show for Alta
The highest rating among the 92 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4 or EF4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on October 4, 2013, came within 24 miles. Of the 92, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 53 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on May 31, 2024. Of the 241 Iowa cities on this site, 90% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Alta. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 71 times since 1968, with stones up to 1.75 inches (golf ball size). Of the 241 Iowa cities, 68% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Alta.
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Tornadoes within 25 miles of Alta
By decade
- 2020s19
- 2010s26(4 EF3+)
- 2000s8(1 EF3+)
- 1990s9
- 1980s11
- 1970s5(1 EF3+)
- 1960s5
- 1950s9(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 4, 2013 | EF4 | 24 mi | 24.7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF4 | 24 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 23, 1952 | F4 | 15 mi | 24.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 15 mi | 29.37 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF3 | 13 mi | 10.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2004 | F3 | 21 mi | 6.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 1, 1971 | F3 | 25 mi | 11.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Dec 15, 2021 | EF2 | 13 mi | 4.77 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF2 | 20 mi | 1.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF2 | 17 mi | 8.34 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 2011 | EF2 | 22 mi | 4.13 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 2008 | EF2 | 23 mi | 13.08 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 92, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Alta
The Storm Prediction Center has 71 hail reports within 10 miles of Alta since 1968, made on 43 separate days. Of these, 51 were 1 inch across or larger, and none reached 2 inches. The largest size, 1.75 inches (golf ball size), was reported on 14 days, most recently July 3, 2023. The most recent report is from April 18, 2025. June has the most reports, 28.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Alta
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Cherokee, IA, 12 miles northwest of Alta at 1,210 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 27°F and 7°F. June is the wettest at 5.2 inches of precipitation on average and January the driest at 0.7 inches; the year adds up to 31.4 inches over 57 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 165 nights a year. Snowfall averages 37.8 inches a year, most of it in December. That 31.4 inches is more than at 13 of the 124 Iowa stations used on this site (10%). Storm Lake, 8 miles east, has its own station (Sioux Rapids 4 E, IA): 32.0 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27 | 7 | 0.7 | 2 | 7.5 |
| Feb | 32 | 11 | 0.8 | 2 | 8.4 |
| Mar | 45 | 23 | 1.7 | 4 | 5.2 |
| Apr | 59 | 34 | 3.2 | 6 | 2.7 |
| May | 71 | 47 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.1 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 5.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 59 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 50 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 36 | 2.3 | 4 | 0.5 |
| Nov | 46 | 24 | 1.5 | 3 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 32 | 13 | 0.9 | 3 | 9.4 |
| Year | 58 | 35 | 31.4 | 57 | 37.8 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Cherokee, IA (1,210 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Alta
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 84 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Alta: 65 thunderstorm wind reports, 14 flash floods and 5 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $27.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on December 15, 2021. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 14. Of the 240 Iowa cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 124 have had fewer than Alta.
August 8, 2010: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Alta — 1 injured, $25,000 damage.
June 12, 2010: flood 8 miles from the centre of Alta — $20.0 million damage.
June 21, 2024: flood 9 miles from the centre of Alta — $2.4 million damage.
NWS: “Rainfall amounts across Buena Vista County from June 20-22 ranged from around a quarter of an inch across southern areas to nearly 3 inches across northern areas. Farther north and upstream, 3 to 7 inches of rain fell across portions of northwest Iowa.”
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Buena Vista County, which includes Alta, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 19 of them major disasters (by incident: 10 severe storms, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Flooding, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on June 24, 2024. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Buena Vista County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Very Low for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.0 million a year, the 58th highest of 99 Iowa counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.7 million (31%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Alta
- Storm Lake, IA8 mi
- Cherokee, IA13 mi
- Sac City, IA24 mi
- Ida Grove, IA26 mi
- Pocahontas, IA32 mi
- Remsen, IA33 mi
- Spencer, IA33 mi
- Kingsley, IA35 mi
- Hartley, IA35 mi
- Moville, IA40 mi
- Rockwell City, IA40 mi
- Manson, IA41 mi
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